I fell into writing about health shortly after grad school, where I realized I didn't want to work in a lab for the rest of my life! My areas of interest are the brain and behavior, as well as what influences the decisions we make about our health, and how the media helps and hinders people's understanding of health issues. As an undergraduate, I studied English Literature and Biopsychology at Vassar College, and got my PhD in Biopsychology and Behavioral Neuroscience at CUNY's Graduate Center in New York City, where I grew up and live now. My day job is as Associate Editor with the health website, TheDoctorWillSeeYouNow.com. My work has appeared in several other publications, including TheAtlantic.com and YogaGlo.com, and I'm particularly excited to join the Forbes health team. Email me at alicegwalton [at] gmail [dot] com .

New Marijuana Laws Take Effect In Washington State, Synthetic Pot Sends More Kids To The ER

Washington State’s legalization of marijuana possession came at a good time, though some would probably argue it should have been done ages ago. According to new data from SAMHSA, more young people went to the ER after experiencing the negative effects of synthetic marijuana in 2010 than in previous years, despite the growing awareness that the fake stuff can be more damaging to the brain than the real thing. Marijuana-related ER visits still outnumber synthetic pot-related visits by 461,028 to 11,406. “It’s not an epidemic,” said Rear Admiral Peter Delany, director of SAMHSA’s Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality. “But it’s a growing problem. And people need to be thinking about it, and how we’re going to deal with it.”

One way may be to do what Washington and Colorado have done – legalized the possession of real pot, if not the sale of it – yet. That will come next year. By this time in 2013, you’ll be able to buy pot from state-licensed stores in Washington, and it will, of course, be subject to taxes. Colorado’s possession laws should go into effect in early January 2013. How the state control of natural pot will affect things – like quality control – will be interesting to watch.

One of the problems with synthetic pot, which also goes by catchy names like “K2,” “Spice,” “Aroma,” “Mr. Smiley,” “Eclipse,” “Black Mamba,” “Blaze,” and “Dream,” is that it is made by underground labs and, as it is totally unregulated, there’s no telling what smattering of harmful compounds it may include. And the risk is particularly high for people whose brains are still developing (i.e., kids and teens), since they are especially susceptible to the harmful chemicals with which they come into contact.

Compared to natural pot, in fact, people going to the ER for synthetic pot use are younger: 75% of people going to the ER after synthetic pot were in the 12-19 age bracket, vs. 58% with natural pot users. The harmful effects of synthetic pot are said to include “agitation, anxiety, nausea, vomiting, tachycardia, elevated blood pressure, tremor, seizures, hallucinations, paranoid behavior, and nonresponsiveness,” according to researchers at SAMHSA. Doctors are also concerned about the long-term effects of the synthetic version, which may include cognitive and memory problems, and perhaps even heart attack or psychosis. Not that natural pot doesn’t risk its own set of harmful effects, which is illustrated by the number of ER visits that still occur with it.

“But with something sold as part of a ‘spice package’ you might think you’re smoking herbs,” Dr. Adam Bisaga, professor of psychiatry at Columbia University and addiction psychiatrist with the New York State Psychiatric Institute, told HealthDay. “And they’re not herbs. You’re not smoking tea or oregano. These are chemicals that are synthesized from scratch to act on the same receptors in the brain as real marijuana. But they are just pure chemicals, with no quality control and with the real potential to be toxic.” The active ingredient in synthetic pot is said to have a much higher affinity for the brain’s CB1 receptor than natural pot, which could account for its more dramatic immediate effects, and its longer-lasting negative effects.

As some sources have reported, Washington’s new marijuana’s laws were celebrated by a large gathering of people unapologetically breaking them by smoking in public, which is still a no-no under the revamped laws. We’ll stay tuned to see whether other states follow suit in coming elections, and how legalization of marijuana may affect the choices kids make about what to smoke in these states, and the number of ER visits we see as a result.

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